Preface. 



Vll 



come from Dr. P. E. Raymond's Horizon 5 (see 

 Study IV, 1914, p. 1 17). 



I have just taken the opportunity of visiting 

 Coalbrookdale with my friend the Rev. W. M. D. 

 La Touche. Our object was to find further specimens 

 of Pyrgocystis ansticei. In this we were not successful, 

 owing no doubt to the growth of vegetation since the 

 original specimens were collected. We were able, 

 however, to identify the "Loam hole" (Study VI, 

 I 9 I 5» P- 5 T )> an d to see that the beds of Wenlock 

 Shale formerly exposed there must be in the lower 

 part of that formation. 



Of the Studies that in happier days may follow 

 these, several are partly prepared and one, on 

 Stromatocystis, has for several months been ready 

 for the printer, but its illustration awaits a time 

 when funds can be released from the needs now 

 more vital. The present series brings the subject 

 to a point where its bearings on general echinoderm 

 morphology can be appreciated, and it is my hope 

 that those who till even wider fields of biology may 

 find here some facts and suggestions of interest to 

 their own speculations. 



These Studies owe much to friends and colleagues 

 in many countries, but there is one who, though we 

 have never met, has been so constant and ready 

 in his help and encouragement that I must give 

 myself the pleasure of mentioning his name here — 

 Mr. Walter R. Billings of Ottawa. 



F. A. BATHER. 



Kensington, 24. Sept., igi^. 



H.Q.—V.A.D. London / 31, 



Brit. Red Cross Soc. 



